After the Royals scored two runs off Blaine Boyer in the seventh, the Red Sox tried to come back, but left the bases loaded in the top of the eighth. Andrew Benintendi tripled with one out in the ninth, but nothing came of it.
Hector Velazquez (5.1-5-2-0-3, 77) did his job, but the bullpen failed. With one out in the seventh, Drew Butera lined the ball to center. Jackie Bradley dove to his right, but the ball skipped past him and rolled to the wall for a triple. Whit Merrifield fell behind in the count, but chopped a single into left, snapping a 1-1 tie.